Fauci Says Lockdowns Unlikely; NBA Cancels Games: Virus Update

(Bloomberg) --

Lockdowns in the U.S. will likely not be necessary even as Covid-19 cases increase, according to President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser, Anthony Fauci. Even so, many hospitals may be strained as the omicron variant spreads, especially in regions with lower levels of vaccination, he said. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the federal government to step up supplies of tests and treatments to the city amid a spike in infections caused by the omicron variant. New York state broke a record for new infections for the third consecutive day.

U.K. Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out stronger measures before Christmas after the nation’s top health advisers urged more restrictions to contain sharply-rising infections. Germany, just recovering from a wave caused by the delta variant, is headed toward another surge caused by omicron, the health minister warned. 

Key Developments: 

• Virus Tracker: Cases pass 274.6 million; deaths top 5.35 million
• Vaccine Tracker: More than 8.71 billion shots given
• Travel Tracker: Covid cases rise, and border tightening follows
• Vaccine data gaps point to millions more in U.S. who lack shots
• Inside South African virology labs: Hunting for the next variant
• What we know about omicron, the new virus variant: QuickTake

Jefferies CEO Quarantined With Covid (4:11 p.m. NY)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Rich Handler said he tested positive earlier this month and is approaching his 10th day of isolation.

“Three days after we decided at Jefferies to have our people once again work from home for safety, I tested positive and have been self-quarantining,” Handler said Sunday in a post on Instagram. 

Jefferies asked staffers on Dec. 8 to start working from home amid a rise in Covid cases among its workforce. The New York-based firm is aiming to have its staff back at the office by Jan. 17, Handler and President Brian Friedman said in an Instagram post on Saturday.

NYC Mayor Calls for Federal Help (3:56 p.m. NY)

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio called on the federal government to step up supplies of tests and treatments to the city amid a spike in infections caused by the omicron variant. 

“We are feeling the omicron wave especially hard right now but we know it’s going to be all over the country,” de Blasio said. “This whole country needs go on a war footing to fight back.”

New infections in New York City have tripled over the last month. The seven-day average of new cases reported on Sunday was 5,731, a number de Blasio called “really shocking.” New York state has broken records for new infections for the last three days, reporting 22,478 new cases on Sunday. 

Italy Reviews Covid Measures (3:02 p.m. NY)

Italy will review its current Covid-19 measures as the country faces a surge in cases which is expected to worsen as the omicron variant becomes dominant across Europe, the country’s health minister said.

“Italy has a lower incidence of omicron compared to other European countries. This is a small advantage we should use to vaccinate more people. The booster shots are crucial against omicron,” Speranza said in an interview on Rai3.

Italy reported 24,259 new cases and 97 deaths Sunday, with the positivity rate rising to 4.3%. The government will meet Thursday to review imposing stricter measures including an outdoor masks mandate and shortening the duration of the Covid-19 passport.

Israel Plans for New Restrictions (1:55 p.m. NY)

The Israeli government plans to impose new restrictions as the omicron variant begins to spread in the country, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Sunday, without giving further details. 

He urged Israelis, meantime, to use common sense to protect themselves, including vaccinating their children, wearing masks and practicing social distancing. He also called on employers to allow their staff to work from home if possible. Some 40 new cases of omicron were confirmed in Israel on Sunday, bringing the total to 175.

NBA Postpones Five Games (1:35 p.m. NY)

The NBA on Sunday announced that five games had been postponed because of players and staff entering Covid-19 health and safety protocols. The impacted games include Denver at Brooklyn, Cleveland at Atlanta, New Orleans at Philadelphia, Orlando at Toronto and Washington at Brooklyn.

France Ups Health Workers’ Pay (1:32 p.m. NY)

The French government will double overtime pay for health workers at public hospitals beginning Monday. “It’s a proper recognition by the state for health workers who have been fully involved since the beginning of this crisis,” Health Minister Olivier Veran said in a statement. France reported 48,473 new infections on Sunday, an 11% increase from a week earlier.

NIH Head Warns of ‘World of Trouble’ (12:29 p.m. NY)

The outgoing director of the National Institutes of Health warned of “a world of trouble” as the omicron variant spreads through the U.S. But the impact can be blunted if Americans get vaccines, boosters and are careful about masking again, Francis Collins said on “Fox News Sunday.”

“I know people are sick of hearing this, but the virus is not sick of us,” said Collins, who is stepping down this week after 12 years as NIH head. “It’s thrown us a new curve-ball and we’ve got to be ready to hit it,” 

He said the evidence remained unclear if omicron infections are milder than other Covid-19 strains “That’s something we’ve got to hope for or our health systems are going to be overwhelmed,” he said. 

U.K. Cases Jump 50% in Week (11:25 a.m. NY)

The U.K. reported another 82,886 cases on Dec. 19 while the weekly total soared 52% to 547,606. Deaths declined by 6.5% to 780 for the week, including 45 on Sunday. The rate of 646 per 100,000 population is the highest since the start of the pandemic. Parts of London are running at more than double that, including more than 1,600 per 100,000 resident in the financial district. 

Confirmed omicron cases increased to a total of 37,101 on Sunday from 14,909 on Dec. 17, though health officials said the actual number is running in the hundreds of thousands per day.

Germany Looks at Next Wave, Vaccine Mandates (10:40 a.m. NY)

Germany’s virus cases are only a few weeks past their peak, but Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said the country is already headed for a fifth wave after registering a “critical number” of omicron infections. 

The nation is administering booster shots faster than most of Europe, and won’t enact a lockdown comparable to that in the Netherlands before Christmas, Lauterbach told ARD on Sunday. 

He said that restrictions on travel from the U.K. were an important step, but that he’s also pushing for travelers to be obliged to take a further PCR test on arrival. Germany could get a better handle on the pandemic if it made vaccinations mandatory, Lauterbach said. 

S. Africa Covid Hospitalizations Tick Up (10 a.m. NY)

South African hospitals have 7,951 Covid-19 patients of whom 6.7% are in intensive care units, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases said in a report on Sunday.

Of the 535 people in ICU, 212 are on ventilators, the institute said. Of the admissions, 3,286 are in Gauteng, the province that includes Johannesburg and Pretoria.

Fauci Doesn’t Expect Lockdowns (9:50 a.m. NY)

An effective shutdown of the U.S. likely won’t be necessary as Covid surges again, though hospitals will be tested by the expected rise in cases from the omicron variant, according to President Biden’s top medical adviser.

“I don’t foresee the kind of lockdowns that we’ve seen before but I certainly see the potential for stress on our hospital system,” Anthony Fauci, who leads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”

UAE Cases Rise Most Since September (8:45 a.m. NY)

The United Arab Emirates reported the highest number of daily infections since late September, as omicron threatens a winter surge in a country that’s managed to keep a lid on the virus for most of this year.

The UAE, one of the most vaccinated countries in the world, reported 285 cases on Sunday. While that’s well below levels seen at the start of the year, daily cases had remained below a hundred a day since mid-October, even falling to a low of 48 earlier this month. 

EU Orders Additional 20 Million Pfizer Doses (8:29 a.m. NY)

The European Commission said BioNTech-Pfizer will deliver an additional 20 million vaccine doses in the first quarter, bringing the total number of deliveries in the first three months of 2022 to 215 million.

The organization also said it activated an option to order more than 200 million doses under the third contract with BioNTech-Pfizer. That order also covers vaccines adapted to the omicron variant, should they become available.

U.K. Taps Retired Teachers (8:04 a.m. NY)

U.K. Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi appealed to retired teachers to come forward to fill possible shortages expected to be caused by what he called the “tidal wave of omicron coming this way.” The temporary assignments would begin at schools and universities in the new year, he said.

U.K. Doesn’t Rule Out Stronger Curbs (6:38 a.m. NY) 

Health Secretary Sajid Javid refused to rule out stronger U.K. Covid-19 rules before Christmas. When asked whether he could rule out a so-called circuit-breaker lockdown within days, he said that there are no guarantees in this pandemic and that everything needs to be kept under review. 

“It’s time to be more cautious. We know this thing is spreading more rapidly,” Javid told BBC News on Sunday. U.K. papers have been filled with speculation that tighter rules may be introduced right after Christmas.

Spanish PM Calls Emergency Meeting (6:39 p.m. HK) 

In a televised address on Sunday, Spanish Primer Minister Pedro Sanchez said the leaders will analyze the evolution of the pandemic in an extraordinary online meeting scheduled for Wednesday. 

Spain’s 14-day average infection rate climbed to more than 500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with hospitalizations tripling to 6,667 patients over the past month, according to Health Ministry data released on Friday.

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